Wilson has refused any further apology beyond his private phone conversation
with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel shortly after Obama's
Wednesday night speech. House Democrats initially said they planned to take no formal action against Wilson. Since then, the South Carolina Republican has backpedaled from his apology and emerged as a folk hero among the anti-Obama teabagging crowd.

The controversy over Republican Rep. Joe Wilson's shouting out "You
Lie!" at the President over his claim that illegal immigrants wouldn't
benefit from health-care reform apparently sparked some reconsideration
of the relevant language. "We really thought we'd resolved this
question of people who are here illegally, but as we reflected on the
President's speech last night we wanted to go back and drill down
again," said Senator Kent Conrad, one of the Democrats in the talks
after a meeting Thursday morning. Baucus later that afternoon said the
group would put in a proof of citizenship requirement to participate in
the new health exchange—a move likely to inflame the left.

Joe Wilson’s flat refusal to apologize to the entire House for heckling President Barack Obama rekindled a push by some top Democrats to introduce a censure resolution — despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to consider the idea on Thursday. Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) are considering the move after Wilson adamantly refused to offer a mea culpa in the well of the House. Clyburn buttonholed him on the floor and asked him three times to publicly renounce his "You lie!" outburst, according to my colleague Victoria McGrane. "If he had just said he was sorry, nobody would be considering any of this," added a senior Democratic aide. The aide said it was too late to push for a resolution this week—and that any resolution would hit the floor next week, giving Wilson more time to reconsider his decision.

Wilson apologized to President Obama after his sophomoric outburst. After claiming he has received "an outpouring of support", the conservative lawmaker has somewhat backpedaled from his apology. In related news: Rob Miller, Wilson's 2010 Democratic opponent, has been received a tidal wave of support, raising his Act Blue election fund to almost $800,000 in less than 36 hours.

10 September 2009

For perhaps the first time in modern history, the President of the United States was actually heckled by a member of Congress. Rep. Joe Wilson, conservative Republican of South Carolina, interrupted President Obama’s speech Wednesday night with a shout of "You lie!"

The outrageous exchange happened during President Obama’s announcement that Democratic health proposals would not cover illegal immigrants. They will not.

Members of both parties condemned the heckling and Wilson later apologized for his outburst. #JoeWilson is the #1 trending topic on Twitter where demands for his censure and more are flooding the internets.